All Hallows' Eve!

For Friday, October 31, 2025:

Deuteronomy 18:10b-11 NLT, Instructions for people living in the Promised Land: “Do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.”

Q: Should Christians celebrate Halloween? A: Only in an innocent and fun way!

All Hallows’ Eve is the night before All Saints’ Day. Pagan Celts erroneously believed that graves would open, and the dead would walk among the living. That’s why we see cemeteries, tombstones and skeletons as Halloween decorations. Witches with their black cats and brooms filled out the dark side of Halloween, practices Christians should avoid at all costs. But Halloween doesn’t have to be like that!

There’s nothing wrong with kids dressing in fun costumes and seeking free candy. My church held a “Trunk of Treat” event. We ate popcorn, drank hot cider, and signed people up for the New Members’ class. The kids played simple games in which everybody won free candy. We signed some of them up for Sunday School! I brought my grandson, dressed as Spiderman. He had a ball! I saw four Spidermen at the event!

We did not have witches, ghosts or ghouls. No “spirits,” evil or otherwise, walked among us. We kept the good, fun parts of Halloween, while discarding the evil.

I want to close by reminding everyone that Satan is real, and he’s always looking to get his foot in our doors. Halloween presents a perfect opportunity for the Devil’s evil plans. His demon helpers are still problematic today. Jesus spent a fair amount of time casting out demons. There’s a lot of evil in our world, and Satan is fueling most of it, so we need to stay alert. Avoid the Evil One at all costs, while loving the children who enjoy a fall party and free candy!

Happy Halloween!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

No Ghosts!

For Thursday, April 24, 2025:

Luke 24:36 NLT: “Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among the disciples. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said.”

The disciples and those gathered with them thought they were seeing a ghost! In a way, they were right, a ghost supposedly being a dead person appearing to the living. But Jesus had not returned to haunt or frighten the faithful. His appearance was proving God’s scriptures to be correct!

Jesus told them, “Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” Ghosts are pictured as wispy aberrations, whereas Jesus stood before them with a complete body. “Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me.”

After the crucifixion, Jesus was called to teach one more Godly principle: that death is not the end. It can be the beginning of an exceptional eternal afterlife in the presence of the Father. We call it Heaven or God’s Kingdom.

Growing up, we all sang, “Jesus loves me.” God loves mankind so much that he wants us to spend eternity with him. God could have chosen anything, but he settled on mankind to be his companions. Believers will have been spared the pain and suffering of hell!

Thank you to God and his Son!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship